Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made headlines this offseason for a commencement speech where he emphasized traditional conservative values. The move is paying off, as the 29-year-old ranked No. 11 on last week’s NFL player sales list.
The report, which is released several times a year by the NFL Players Association, ranks the league’s top 20 players based on merchandise sales. Last week’s report featured data from March 1 through May 31.
Butker ranked just outside the top 10, ahead of teammate Travis Kelce, despite his romance with pop superstar Taylor Swift. The kicker also ranked ahead of household names like New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Buffalo Bills signal-caller Josh Allen.
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud topped the list after a stellar rookie season, followed by Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes and Detroit Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson.
Butker’s commencement speech, where he encouraged young women to consider a life as a homemaker over a career, elicited widespread criticism from liberals and support from conservatives.
In the months that followed, the kicker has embraced the provocative nature of his beliefs.
Butker wrote on X last month, attributing a quote to Winston Churchill: “You have enemies? Good. That means you stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
Butker has converted all seven of his field-goal attempts to start the season, including a 51-yard winner as time expired against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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